If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

What can I say... Takashi Miike is one whose movies I enjoy more and more these days and The City Of Lost Souls isn't an exception. The piece itself is about a Brazilian protagonist and his girlfriend, trying their best to cross the border from Japan to Taiwan. They stumble upon trouble on the way, interfering with Yakuza's business and the outcome becomes a quite fast-paced roller-coaster action with violence, punchlines, and, I must add that there's also a great load of comedy here.Anyone expecting hardcore violence throughout the entire piece may get disappointed. If you got some distance though and are open for hybrid stuff then this piece won't disappoint you. It awesome and funny, with a great mixture between the raw and cold violent scenes and the funny, surprising scenes of comedy. The language mix between Brazilian Portugese, Mandarin and Japanese is just a great additional bonus.

I have been a big fan of Takashi Miike since "Ichi the Killer" and was further solidified by "Audition", so obviously I needed to hunt down every Miike film out there. This movie sounded had an interesting premise (similar to "True Romance"), so figuring it would be Miike-ized, I rented it. After watching it, I didn't feel the same exhilaration that I did out of other Miike films. Apart from an exciting helicopter escape, an interesting cock-fight, and a cool would-be ping pong game, it really didn't hold my attention for long. Teah, who plays the protagonist Mario, makes Keanu Reeves look like a Shakesperean actor, and I could've cared less what happened to him. On the other hand, Michelle Reis did show good potential, but was largely wasted in this film. With the exception of the guy who played the Yakuza upstart, most of the characters are forgettable. Yes, it has the typical Miike weird ending, but it doesn't' strike you as anything special, unlike the endings of "Dead or Alive" or (better yet)"Audition". If you are getting into Miike, stay away from this one.

When I watch an Asian film, I am not interested in one where the hero is a non-Asian and at least fifty per cent of the cast is as well. Miike has a track record of pushing the envelope, and maybe that's what he was trying to do here, by breaking the taboo of a Western protagonist, who kills many Asians to boot.Most of the Asian characters are portrayed here as hissingly antagonist or just weak and victimized. Though I am a non-Asian myself, I was personally offended, and felt this was just a strident attempt at shock and irreverence.No where near as good as some of Miike's other films, such as "Odishon."

Well, I couldn't identify with the male protagonist. What's a Brazilian to do in a Japanese gangster movie, one may ask. That's his problem, to avoid deportation he is going on a long trip of bloodshed and revenge driven by sympathy for his girlfriend (a Chinese) and a mysterious small girl. The twists and turns in the story are as unconvincing as the end, at least there are some special characters as we expect them from Miike. Unlike AUDITION Miike seems to have been disinterested in the topic this time.